New Member - Lost My Best Friend

[CoopersMommy]

Hi everyone. On May 18, I lost my beautiful little boy, Cooper. He was only five years old. He went to have his teeth cleaned and the vet tech made a mistake with an anesthesia valve that killed him. He was healthy and happy and perfect in every way. The love of my life. And now he is gone. It will be eight weeks tomorrow. On July 2, we brought a new baby into our house. She is a schnoodle puppy named Dori. Our house felt so empty and sad and our older dog Rudy, who is ten, seemed lonely. Dori is wonderful. She has really brought some joy back into our lives. Cooper's unexpected loss was so devastating to us. I had taken such good care of him and worried about him all the time, but I never once imagined that something like this could possibly happen to him. He was my baby. I read something that said our dogs bring us a "private peace". That is what it felt like. With Cooper, no matter how crappy life was, I was at peace knowing he was there. Now, I feel like that peace is gone. I have happy moments and sad ones, but it always feels like something is just "off". That peace is gone. I miss my little man every day. I hope he is ok, wherever he is, and knows I love him.

[kayc]

Cooper's Mommy,

I am so sorry for your losing Cooper. My Arlie is my baby (all 81 pounds of him!) and I can't imagine how I'll survive losing him one day. I had a dog, years ago, named Fluffy. He was the perfect family dog, so adorable, very interactive, very sweet, we all loved him so much. He died unexpectedly well before his time, he climbed into our van unbeknownst to us and he hid and was real quiet because he knew he wasn't supposed to be there. I drove to work, it was summer, and I worked at a mill and there was so much wood dust there I always kept the windows all the way up. When I came out to the van at the end of the day and opened the door, he rolled out into my arms, stiff as a board. I totally freaked out. While I'd been inside the office working, his brain was exploding from heat. I never got over that. There will never be another dog to replace him, but I can finally say I am now as close if not closer to my Arlie. I had one dog inbetween them, Lucky, she was a really good girl, well trained, but I never got as attached to her because she was always scared and would just lay in the corner and not interact much (she'd been abused as a puppy). These little furry creatures are the sunshine in our day and it is so hard to go on when they leave us. We all know we will most likely outlive them, their life spans are so much shorter than ours, and really, we wouldn't want it the other way, we wouldn't want the dogs to have to live without us, but it's so much harder, if you ask me, when their little lifespans are cut shorter than they should be, it just seems an incredible waste. I for one happen to believe they will greet us in heaven one day and we'll have them back. They are what I look forward to!

I know Dori isn't the same as Cooper and maybe that's good, she can earn her own little spot in your heart, but I wish you much love and joy in her!